Coupler for connecting air cleaners to carburetors



May 18, 1937. w. H. scHuLi 8 COUPLERFOR CONNECTING AIR CLEANERS T0 CARBURETORS Filed May 9, 1935 I l/VVEA/TOA 1 I W/LLl/IM H. SCHULZ 6r H15 Arr %m) servingas a camming surface.

Patented May .18, 1 937 U ITED STATES COUPLER FOR CONNECTING Ara CLEANERS 1'0 CARBURETORS William -H. Schulz, Minneapolis, Minn pssignor to Donaldson Company, Inc., St. Paul, Minn., a

corporation of Minnesota Application May a, 1935, Serial No. 20,577

8 Claims. (01. 285429) My present invention provides a simple and highly eiiicient device for connecting an air cleaner to the intake of a carburetor and, gen-- erally stated, consists of the novel devices, com

binations of devices and arrangement of parts. hereinafter described-and defined in the claims. While capable of more general application, the coupler is especially designed for connecting air cleaners of the type disclosed and claimed in the application of Wilfred W. Lowther, Se-

' rial Number l6,189,'filed April 13, 1935, to the upstanding air intake tubes of carburetors such asused in the engines of Ford automobiles.

A preferred form of the coupling device, de--. signed for the purpose above indicated, is illustrated in the accompanying drawing wherein like characters indicate like parts throughout the several views.

Referring to the drawing: I Fig. l is a view partly in elevation and partly in vertical axial section showing the improve coupler applied as above stated;

Fig. 2 is a fragmentary section taken'on the line 2-2 01? Fig. 1; t Fig. 3 is a perspective with parts broken away showing the air intake tube of the carburetor such as above indicated; I Fig. 4 is a perspective showing the coupling j collar removed from working position; and v 30 Fig. 5 is a section taken through the depending air delivery tube of the air cleaner substantially on the line 55 of Fig. 1.

-The carburetors used in connection with internal combustion engines such, for example, as 35 Ford automobile engines, have air intake tubes 6 to' which the aircleaners are adapted to be attached and which air tubes are provided with the customary throttle valves 1... In the particular design of air intake tube just considered, 49 said tubes are provided with surrounding and outstanding peripheral ribs or fianges 8 and with external bosses 9, whichlatter afford good bearings for the spindles of the throttle valves 1. The ribs 8, it will be noted particularly by reference to Fig. 3, are located a considerable distance below the extreme upper ends of the said .air intake tubes and provide axially. spaced upper and lower radial shoulders, the former serving-as a stop shoulder-.andthe latter thereof The 'air cleaner here illustrated, being of the type disclosed in said pending Lowther application, may .be briefly described as follows: An outer casing i0, and an upper dome structure ii 55 are spaced to aflord' an air intake passage l2 and are both. secured to and arranged to deliver clean air toan axial clean air-delivery tube i3,

the *lowen end of which projects below the bottom of the casing ill and is 'of asize to telescope over the upper end of thecarburetorair intake tube 6. To adaptthe extreme lower end. of 'the air delivery tube ii to be tightly and closely clamped against the upper end of the carburetor intake tube Grit is slit at M, as shown in Fig. 5. :The air. delivery tube l3, at a point consid rably above its lower end, is provided with eng gement directly" against the extreme upper end of the air, intake tube 6 to thereby ,insure an air-tighti'jointbetween the air delivery tube and the air intake tube. Whenthe gasket it rests upon the upper end of the air intake tube 6 the extreme, lower end ofthe airdelivery tubeii will be close to but will not quite rigidly secured annular internal fiange v I 5 t at holds a pliable gasket 16in position for is capable of being drawn-slightly downward so as to compress the gasket against the upper end of said intake tube. At-a pointconsiderably below the gasket IS the air. delivery tube I3 is formed with an outwardlywpressed' bead or shoulder il. f

The clamping collar l8, which constitutes the major important'element ofthe present invention, is in the form of a split, strap-like, collar rolled or, ressed from thin sheet .metaLfprferably sheet steel. Tlhis collar is flexible and, at'its split ends. isprovided with perforated outstanding ears IS through which a screw or short bolt 20 is adapted to be passed, and in co-op-v eration witha nut 2| to tightly clamp the collar around the lower endof the air delivery tube I3 andtheupper portion of the air intake tubeli. This collar has further important fea tures, to wit: for engagement with the outwardly pressed bead I! of the tube I3, said collar is formed with an outwardly pressed bead 22 and atitslower edge, for engagement with the outstanding rib 8 .of the air intake tube. 6, said collar is provided with aninternallyconcave or externally convex clamping flange 23 which has a cam-acting engagement with said rib. The outwardly pressed beads I1 and 22 are preferably formed with approximately the sameo'utwardly pressed concave-convex formationso that the inner convex curve of the bead 22 will .be slightly less than the convex curve of the bead l1.

exterior of bead IT as shown in the drawing This will cause the bead 22 to engage the play or slippage between the engaged beads of the tube l3 and collar H3. The curve of the clamping flange 23 is such that when the gasket [8 is seated against the upper end of tube 6 and the clamping collar is tightenedaround the depending endof tube l3,,said flange 23 will-have a sort of a camming action. that will pull-up-V and insuring an air-tight engagement between the tubes 6 and I3. Of course, the engagement of the beads" l1 and 22, as already stated, prevents slippage of the collar inw respect to the tube l3. In other words, the engagement oi the beads I1 and 22 serves to hold the clamping 001 lar axially anchored with respect to the delivery tube l3.

Under a downward drawing action produced interlocking engagement therewith air cleaner to be removed when said collar is attached to said air delivery tube;

3. The structure defined in claim 1 in which said collar is detachably interlocked to said air delivery tube by nested beads formed on said v I I members, and'in which'thelclamping fla'nge'of ward on the rib 8 and downward on the aircleaner tube l3, thereby compressing fgasketlfi said collar has such radial engagement with said .rib that it will maintain said collar secured to said air intake tube when said collar 'has loosened sufflciently to permit disengagement of said nested beads and removal of said air cleaner therefrom.

4. The combination with an engine air intake tube having radial shoulder axially spaced from by clamping the collar onto the tube l3 and the rib 8, gasket l6, whichis preferably of cork ,or-

felt, will be compressed untilthe lower edge of said tube [3 will be drawn downward and stopped against the saidrib 8, thereby very rigidly and definitely seating the airicleaner on the carbue retor and insuring against rattling of parts. It is now important to notethat the clamping flange 23 in a radial direction is very muchdeeper than the beads 22. With this arrangement, the clamping collar may be loosened sufllciently to disengage the beads I1 and 22 without entirely disengaging flange 23 from'rib 8,so as to permit removal of the air cleaner from the carburetor I without removing the collar from the'carburetor tube. V

As best shown in Fig. 4, the flange 23 is notched or cut away at 24 to clear the bosses 9.

With the device described, the air cleaner can be very quickly and securely'anchored to the car-' buretor and when desired,'the air cleaner may be quickly removed. The deviceis of smallmanufacturing costand, in practice, it has been found eflicient' for thepurpose had in view. Of course, the preferred structure illustrated is capable of modification within the scope of th'e invention hereindisclosed and claimed.

' What I claim is: 3

1. The combination with an engine air intake tube having an outstanding peripheral rib located below its extreme upper end, of an air cleaner having a depending air delivery tube adapted to be telescoped over that portion of the upper end of said engine intake tube that is above said rib, an annular gasket secured withinthe air delivery tube of said air cleaner for-engagement with the upper end of said carburetor in-' take tube, means independent of said gasket for positively'limiting inward telescoping movements of the tubes to a position wherein thej'ga sket is partially compressed to a predetermined extent, the depending end of the air delivery tube to said air cleaner having an outwardly pressed bead located below said gasket, and a' clamping collar interlocked to the air delivery tube of said air cleaner and having a depending cam-acting flange engageable with the riboi. theair intake tube of said engine and havinga drawing action thereon for drawing saidgasket against the upper end of said engine air intake tube.

2. The structure defined-in claim 1 in which said'cam-acting' flange has such radially-extended engagement with said rib that it will pressed bead on said air delivery tube above theits intake end, of an air cleaner having an axially slit air intake tube, means limiting axial telescoping movement of the air delivery tube onto said air intake tube, and a flexible strap-like clampingcollar anchored to said air delivery tube and having a. downwardlyconverging cam-acting flange. at itsloweredge portion that is engageable with the said radial shoulder of the air intake tube, the said-cameacting flange of the clamping collar serving,:when.the clamping collar istightQ ened, to draw telescoped parts axially together and the clamping collar proper serving to bring the slit delivery tube into tight telescopic engage! ment with the delivery tube.

' 5. The combination withan engine air intake tube having an external radial shoulder axially spaced fromits intake end, of an air cleaner having an air delivery tube adapted to be telescop'ed onto said 'air intake tube, means limiting axial telescoping movement of the air delivery, tube onto said air intake tube, an outwardly lower end thereof, and a clamping collar having an outwardly pressed bead adapted .to fitting and receive the head of the airqdelivery tube when the said clamp collar is,-tightened about the air delivery tube, said clamping collar being provided with an axially converging. cam-acting flange that is engageable with thesaid radial shoulder of the intake tube to draw the telescoped parts together axially, the cam-acting flange being deeper in a radial direction than the said beads, so that the clamping collar may be loosenedv sufliciently to release the said beads from interlocking engagement without releasing the cam-acting flange from interlock-ing engagement'with the radial shoulder ofthe-intake tube.

6. The structure defined in claim 5 in which the delivery. tube is slitso that it will be reduced circumferentially and drawn into tight clamping engagement with the intake jtube of the radial clamping action of the clamping collar.'-

'7. The structure defined-inclaim 4 in which 6 said radial shoulder serves to positively-limit, the extent of telescopic engagement of the tubes.

8. The structure defined'in claim 4 inwhich said collar is detachablyinterlocked to'said air delivery tube .by. nested beads formed onvsaid members, and in which the clamping flange of said collar has such radial engagement with-said rib that it willmaintain said collar secured to said air intake tube when said collar has loosened sufliciently to permit disengagement of said nested beads and removal of said air cleanertherefrom. v I

.WILLIAM HjSCHULZ 

